We have no evidence of when Mary Magdalene was born or when she died. We know she was an adult during the teaching period of Jesus life, so she is his contemporary. She is mentioned by name in all four Gospels – twelve times – more than any other woman and more than most of the apostles. Luke tells us she supported Jesus’ ministry financially, which suggests she was probably wealthy. He also says she was cured of evil spirits, specifically “seven demons”. She is listed first in any list in the Gospels, indicating that was seen as most important.

In non-canonical works like Pistis Sophia, Dialogue of the Savior, Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of Philip and, crucially, Gospel of Mary, she is identified as a senior disciple of Jesus, one whose understanding of the teaching was greater than many of the others (notably greater than Peter’s). Dialogue of the Saviour calls her “a woman who understood everything”. In Pistis Sophia, Jesus tells her, "Mary, thou blessed one, whom I will perfect in all mysteries of those of the height, discourse in openness, thou, whose heart is raised to the kingdom of heaven more than all thy brethren".

Her name, “Magdalene” could mean she was from the town of Magdala. Some suggest it might come from “migdal” meaning tower because her understanding of the teachings towered over the other disciples.

Explaining his particular love for her to the other disciples in Gospel of Philip, Jesus offers this metaphor:

When a blind person and one who sees are both together in darkness, they are no different from one another. When the light comes, then the one who sees will see the light, and the one who is blind will remain in darkness.

She is attested as among the group of women, with Mary, Jesus’ mother, who witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus. She was present as Joseph of Arimathea took the body down and she was present at the burial (though whether the burial was historical or mythic is controversial).

All four gospels have the Magdalene as the first witness to the empty tomb, though with different details. Notably, in John, she is also the first witness of the risen Jesus.

At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

John 20:14–18 (NIV)

Because she is sent by Jesus to bring the news to the apostles, she bears the title “Apostle to the Apostles”.

Folk tradition records a story in which she is dining with the Emperor Tiberius and speaking about Christ’s resurrection. Mary picks up an egg to eat as Tiberius scoffs that a man could no more rise from the dead than her egg turn red – at which moment, the egg turns red in her hand. This moment is sometimes depicted in icons and artworks showing her holding a red egg. It’s also offered as an explanation for the Greek custom of dyeing eggs red at Pascha.

In most traditions, the Magdalene is believed to have gone to Ephesus with John the Evangelist and the Virgin Mary where she lived and taught until the end of her life.

Today, she is universally revered by Christians – Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant – as a saint and a disciple and friend of Jesus. She is also revered as a heroine of faith by the Bahá’í faith. Abdu'l-Bahá wrote that "her reality is ever shining from the horizon of Christ". She is one of the most commonly depicted Christian figures in art after Jesus, the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist.

Controversies in Mary’s story

1. For a long time in western Christianity (though never in the east), the Magdalene was identified with Mary of Bethany, sister of Martha and Lazarus, and with the sinful woman of Luke 7:36–50. For this reason, she is sometimes depicted as a prostitute in western artworks.

2. There is a tradition in the south of France that Mary Magdalene, Mary of Bethany and her siblings Martha and Lazarus and their Egyptian servant Sara (see Saint Sarah the Egyptian) along with some others were set adrift in a boat during persecutions following the death of Jesus. Due to a miracle, the boat was guided to Provence, to Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer where they came safely ashore and lived there, teaching the Gospel to local people. A version of this appears in “The Davinci Code”, but it’s an ancient tradition in Provence and recorded in “The Golden Legend” (1260) by Jacobus de Voragine.

3. It has been various claimed

   1. That Mary was the wife of Jesus and bore him children,

   2. That she was betrothed to John the Evangelist and possibly that they were the couple in the Wedding at Cana story, after which John leave her to follow Jesus,

   3. That she was the original “Disciple Who Jesus Loved” from the Fourth Gospel (sometimes in tandem with 3a) but that the gender of the character was changed due to prevailing anti-female cultures of the time.

Sources:

1. “Mary Magdalene”, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Magdalene

2. “Mary Magdalene”, OrthodoxWiki, https://orthodoxwiki.org/Mary_Magdalene

3. “Mary Magdalene in Provence Legend or Fact”, https://perfectlyprovence.co/mary-magdalene-provence-legend/

Teaching Highlights

If we regard the Gospel of Mary Magdalene as genuine, then her key teaching is the necessity to overcome the passions or malign emotions in order to ascend to union with the Divine. Mary describes this through a story in which the soul ascends through

• The first power (this section is missing)

• The second power - desire

• The third power – ignorance

• The fourth power, which takes the seven forms of wrath:

  • Darkness

  • Desire

  • Ignorance

  • Excitement of death

  • Kingdom of the flesh

  • Foolish wisdom of flesh

  • Wrathful wisdom

Key Quotes

“I have seen the Lord!”

Luke 20:18

“Do not weep and do not grieve nor be irresolute, for His grace will be entirely with you and will protect you. But rather, let us praise His greatness, for He has prepared us and made us [spiritually] Male.”

Gospel of Mary 5:2-3

“What binds me has been slain, and what turns me about has been overcome, and my desire has been ended, and ignorance has died. In an aeon I was released from a world, and in a Type from a type, and from the fetter of oblivion which is transient. From this time on will I attain to the rest of the time, of the season, of the aeon, in silence.”

Gospel of Mary 8:21-24

What to Read

The Gospel According to Mary Magdalene and probably The Meaning of Mary Magdalene. All the secondary sources are recommended.

Primary Sources

• The Gospel According to Mary Magdalene (gnosis.org)

• The Gospel of Mary Magdalene translation and commentary by Jean-Yves Leloup, introduction by Jacob Needleman

Secondary Sources

• The Meaning of Mary Magdalene: Discovering the Woman at the Heart of Christianity by Cynthia Bourgeault

• The Mary Magdalene Cover-Up: The Sources Behind the Myth by Esther A. De Boer

• Mary Magdalene Revealed: The First Apostle, Her Feminist Gospel & the Christianity We Haven't Tried Yet by Meggan Watterson

• Mary Magdalene (Wikipedia)

• The Quest for Mary Magdalene by Michael Haag

The Secret Magdalene by Ki Longfellow (fiction)